HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1997-08-13, Page 21Bean Festival, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 1997 — Page 9A
Ung',' 'anding what you're eating
BY CALE COWAN
Staff writer
The bean that put South Huron on the
map is facing some stiff competition
these days.
The bean that spawned a massive
summer festival of its own and found
its way onto the entrance signs of a
neighboring village is in tough this
year against a close relative.
Soaring soy bean prices, combined
with a tough wet fall last year have
seen Ontario acreage of the white
bean decline in 1997.
Total Canadian acreage remains
constant as Western provinces begin
experimenting with. the crop, but the
declining trend in Ontario has some
white bean producers here concerned.
"It's a concern for the marketing
board," said Garnet Wright, a
Clinton -area producer who serves on
the board. of directors of the Ontario
Bean Marketing Board. "We're con-
cerned enough we're cutting back on
spending wherever we can."
Known commerically as the Ontario
White Bean Producers, the marketing
body also keeps producers abreast of
what's happening in their industry.
'Both producers
and dealers would
rather have forgot-
ten last September,
which was fraught
with untimely pre-
cipitation.'
— R. Martin Huzevka,
GM Ontario White
Bean Producers
But after last year's tough harvest
that saw yields reduced and the con-
tinuing bullish market for soy beans.
it should come as no surprise to any-
one that white bean planting is down.
"It was tough to get it off last year,"
Wright remembered. "And because
the price of soy beans has been so
good, some people have decided to
grow that instead of white beans."
In fact, this is the third straight year
that soy beans have outperformed
their cousins. And combined with a
strong market for corn, acreage in
Ontario fell to 62,000 acres this year
— down from over 80,000 in 1996.
However, that doesn't mean there's
a shortage of white beans on the mar-
ket.
While the Ontario marketing board
often deals with customers overseas.
where beans arc more commonly con-
sumed. reports of stores in North
America suggest there is -somewhat of
'a backlog.
In his most recent market update.
Ontario White' Bean Producers gener-
al manager R. Martin Huzevka.
touches on that fact.
"Carryover for the 1996-97 market-
ing year could rise to 1.485 million
bags or higher. up by more than
500,000 bags from the board's prior'
estimate for best quality white pea
beans." he wrote this summer.
Combine that with lower acreage
this year and white bean producers
have had some surprises over the last
couple of years.
"Both producers and dealers would
rather have forgotten last September.
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